The Blight of Fiore
by Doomson
Summary: Seven years since Tenroe Island, Fiore is plunged into war. Zeref's rival the Shredder, head of the dark guilds and the Archdemon has unleashed swarms of Darkspawn. Will Fairy Tail's return be enough to turn the tide of the Sixth Blight?
1. Chapter 1: The Archdemon

"It's over huh Natsu?" the black wizard Zeref sighed.

Zeref looked out over where Tenroe Island once stood. Now it was as if it had never existed. Thanks to the breath of the black dragon, Acnologia, there was only the vast horizon of the ocean in sight.

Zeref lifted his emotionless gaze and descended to the wrecked deck of Grimoire Heart's airship. The two sole surviving members of the dark guild Grimoire Heart sweat with fear as Zeref landed in front of them. They had failed to destroy Fairy Tail but had succeeded in meeting the black wizard Zeref. Though the cost was far greater than they anticipated. Not only were the other Seven Kin of Purgatory and their second in command Bluenote Stinger dead or lost, but also their master, Hades, had died at the hands of Zeref himself.

Zeref glared at them as they shook. "Listen up trash. You came here in the hopes of using me to fulfill your own ambition of creating a world where only the strong wizards survive. Now your master is dead, and you have lost all of your troops. You are completely at my mercy. So I'll give you a choice, die or obey me."

The grey haired wizard, Rusty Rose, gulped. "O…of course Lord Zeref. What do you wish?"

"Take me to Dragon Claw."

He walked past them. The fat, pale skinned Cain Hikaru shivered as he was passed. "Then… you wish to see… _him_?"

"Yes, it's time to pay my respects to my old friend." Zeref looked back at them with a calm face. "Who knows? He might even reward you for bringing me to him."

Far in the northern mountains, remote from the rest of the Kingdom of Fiore, was a valley where the waling winds of the snow echoed like dying screams. The Valley of Demons, a forsaken land known to be haunted by the spirits of those who were unfortunate enough to venture there. Within that accursed valley, was the impressive stronghold of Dragon Claw, the head of the dark guilds. The fortress itself hovered above an abyss with no connection to the large plateau that sat in between a jagged ravine. The palace walls stood fifty meters high, with red tipped battle towers positioned along them. The towers behind the walls were also red tipped and measured seventy meters high. They resembled teeth of a beast.

The airship landed in front of the small gate that sat at the bottom of the fortress, overlooking the void of the abyss. As Zeref set foot on the ground, the gate opened. A large muscular man walked out. He was dressed in black armor lined with red and had the mark of Dragon Claw emblazoned on his breastplate, the three-toed claw of the dragon. He was accompanied by two black masked ninjas who wore the same symbol on their chest. The man's long, blond ponytail flapped in the wind.

He stopped in front of Zeref and bowed his head. "Welcome Lord Zeref," he addressed. "The master is expecting you."

Hikaru walked behind with his black afro flapping in against the wind. "We're expected?"

The man gave a beastly stare at the marshmallow of a man. "You should know that nothing gets passed him." He looked back down at the black wizard. "Follow me."

The man led Zeref into the palace, with Rusty Rose and Cain Hikaru trailing behind.

After walking through the vast halls of the palace, they finally arrived before the entrance to the throne room. The two large doors opened up. The chamber was large enough to fit over a hundred people. It had windows built along the walls, separated by columns. At the opposite end of the doors, was demonic throne that sat on an elevated platform, emblazoned with the mark of Dragon Claw. However, the main focus of the wizards' attention was on the demon that sat upon the throne.

The muscular man bowed his head, "Master, Lord Zeref and the surviving members of Grimoire Heart have arrived."

Zeref retained a stoic face as his gaze met with the one demon who rivaled him in strength. He was heavily armored. Large, pauldrons with jagged blades sat on his shoulders, which were connected by a chain. His grey chest armor covered his upper body save for his arms, which were clothed in black sleeves. Both his forearms wore bladed gauntlets, though the left gauntlet had two blades that stuck out like a claw. A red sash sat around his waist. Armor flaps hung down his lower body, leading up to his knees. Each kneecap displayed a red three-toed dragon claw. His feet wore grey armored shoes. The demon's pale hands were the only visible part of his body. His helmet consisted of a grey mouthpiece, a metal layered lamellae that circled around his head, and a red three pronged spike at the top. Only his red blazing eyes could be seen through the helmet. Though Zeref saw him as an old friend, the rest of the world knows him as one of the greatest fiends to walk the earth, the Archdemon, the head of the dark guilds, and the master of Dragon Claw, Oroku Saki, the Shredder.

Cain and Rusty Rose immediately bowed before the Shredder.

"Master Shredder," Rusty rose addressed. "I gladly present you with your old friend Lord Zeref. Through the storms that raged we…"

"Silence!" the Shredder growled. "Spare me your muses and speak only when spoken to!"

Rusty Rose trembled and quickly shut up. The bloodlust behind his voice and the maliciousness of his red gaze instilled sheer terror within Hikaru and Rose.

The Shredder fixed his eyes on Zeref. "My old friend… the Black Wizard."

Zeref smiled. "My old friend… the Archdemon."

"How long has it been? Two? Three? Four hundred years? You haven't aged a day."

"You're one to talk Saki, you're even older than me."

"Well, that's true. Two of the Seven Kin of Purgatory bring you before me and not their master? Where is Hades?"

"Dead." Zeref flatly answered.

"Dead?"

"By my hand."

The Shredder gave a small laugh. "You always did have a habit of exterminating those beneath you."

"Does it upset you Saki? He was your ally."

"You know me better than that Zeref. Hades was a powerful ally. Apart from you, he was the only human who dared to go into the depths of darkness to learn about the truth behind the One Magic. But he was a fool. A mere pawn at my disposal."

"A pawn? A fool?" whispered Rose.

As the head of the dark guilds of Fiore, all guilds answered to the Shredder. Even the strongest guilds of the Baram Alliance: Oracion Seis, Tartaros, and Grimoire Heart must obey the orders from Dragon Claw. They idolized the Shredder since he was the rival of Zeref. The legend tells how when the two first met, they fought as enemies. However, both of their immortality and overwhelming power never brought their battle to a conclusion. After days of fighting, the two unholy magical beings understood that fighting each other was pointless, and decided to form an alliance instead.

Since the Shredder knew Zeref better than anyone, he instructed Grimoire Heart to obtain the keys that would awaken him from a deep sleep. To their unfortunate realization, the keys were never necessary; fore the black wizard was never asleep to begin with. Instead of obtaining power from Zeref to conquer the world, the black wizard took the life of their master as a penance for all the havoc they caused while following the false lead.

The Shredder gazed at the two Seven Kin. "Rusty Rose. Cain Hikaru. Though you succeeded in bringing Zeref to me, you lost over half of your wizards, including your master, Hades. But most of all… you failed to defeat Fairy Tail!"

"We're so sorry my lord!" Cain shook with sweat, nearly crying. "It will never happen again!"

"No… it won't."

Suddenly, Rose and Hikaru were wrapped in iron chains that neutralized their magic and rendered them immobile. Ninja wizards of Dragon Claw dropped from the ceiling and grabbed hold of them.

"My lord, what is this?!" begged Rusty Rose.

"Didn't you boast about how only the strong can exist in your grand magic world? Your guild has served me well in the past but you failed to destroy Fairy Tail and have outlived your usefulness!"

"No! No! Please my lord!"

"I do not tolerate failures among my forces. In my army, you live as long as you succeed. Failure is not an option!"

The two wizards were dragged screaming out of the throne room.

The Shredder removed his helm, revealing his pale demon face, and rose from his throne. His crimson cape hung down to his shins. "Come Zeref, we have much to discuss."

The two walked along the outer wall of the fortress. The cold air blew violently throughout the Valley of Demons making the Shredder's red cape flap in the wind.

"So," Zeref began. "You intentionally lied to Grimoire Heart about the so called keys of Zeref in order for them to cause enough destruction to summon Acnologia."

The wind grew more violent at the mention of that name.

"That was the plan," spoke the Shredder. "The Black Dragon is the herald of the apocalypse." He stopped to look out over the valley. "Can you feel it old friend? A change is riding along the winds. The dawn of a new era is upon us."

The Black Wizard stood beside the Archdemon. He sighed, "Once again, humanity will be thrown into chaos."

"Yes, soon, the old kingdom will burn. And out of the ashes, a new empire will rise. My empire." He turned his head. "Hun!"

At the summons of his master, the muscular man Hun came before the two of them and bent his knee.

"Send word to all dark guilds across Fiore. Instruct them to arrive at the Valley of Demons within one week!"

"Yes Master."

After one week, the plateau was crowded by thousands of dark wizards. Then a horn sounded. From a balcony of Dragon Claw's outer wall, the Shredder appeared. Thousands of cheers echoed within the valley. Once he stopped, the Archdemon waved his hand, silencing the crowds.

In a loud and strong voice, the Shredder announced, "Wizards of darkness, take heed to my words. As you are all aware, we have suffered the loss of powerful allies within the past year including the Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart of the Baram Alliance." The crows began to murmur with unrest. "And who is to blame for their downfall?!"

"Fairy Tail!" shouted the dark guilds.

"Yes! Fairy Tail and the rest of the light guilds. For years, the light guilds of Fiore have sought to purge us from the face of the earth, giving more control to the Magic Council and their pitiful king, ensuring light guild dominance!" More angry shouts rose. "However, let it be known that a new era is upon us! As you have heard, the black dragon Acnologia destroyed Tenroe Island along with Fairy Tail's strongest members. Though our chief opposition has been weakened, the coming of Acnologia has issued forth a new era for the magic world. Our era!" Cheers sounded. "It is time to remind Fiore, no, the world… who its true masters are! For glory's sake, for vengeance sake, and for the sake of the new era…"

Zeref sighed. _War_.

The Shredder spread out his arms. "Waaaaaaaaarrrr!"

Thousands of battle cries thundered from below. The choice had been made; Fiore would once again be victim to the horrors of war.

The Shredder left the balcony and met with Zeref.

"Excellent speech," Zeref said. "Inspiring and full of wrath. It would appear that war is the one thing that will never vanish."

The Shredder's eyes glowed. "Exactly. I have also instructed the guild masters to meet with me."

"And Mard Geer will be among them I presume?"

"Indeed, do you wish to present yourself to them?"

"This is your moment my old friend. In time I may choose to show myself. But for now, I will observe."

"Very well."

Within the hour, the guild masters of the dark guilds assembled in the Shredder's throne room. There were at least fifty of them, but the one who stood out from them was Mard Geer. Mard Geer was the acting guild master of Tartaros, renowned as the King of the Underworld. Though he had a fair appearance with his long black hair, light skin, and ebony eyes, he was actually a demon from the books of Zeref. Like the rest of the members of Tartaros, he was determined to find his creator but for now, he must adhere to the bidding of Archdemon. Even though he himself was a demon, Mard Geer's power was pale in comparison to the power of the Shredder.

Mard Geer bent his knee along with the other guild masters. "My lord," he grinned. "From the moment you summoned us, Mard Geer predicted that a great change was about to unfold."

The Shredder tapped his talons on his armrest. "Your prediction was correct Mard Geer. There are many preparations to make for all dark guilds to operate as a joined army."

One of the other masters raised his head, "My lord, although we are all dark guilds, it doesn't guarantee cooperation." The Shredder's eyes glowed red causing the guild master to nearly piss himself. "But we'll make sure that such a thing does not come to pass!"

Another spoke, "Our guild was allied with Grimoire Heart! We are fully prepared to go to war and do whatever it takes to wreck vengeance upon the light guilds!"

"Agreed! It's our era now!" declared another.

The Archdemon gave a small laugh, "Nothing unites old enemies like a common foe. Though you all have wizards who are well suited to battle, I will take no chances. All wizards must be evaluated for their strengths and weaknesses. If there is any weakness, then they will be submitted for improved training."

"With all due respect my lord," spoke another master. "Our guild's wizards don't require more training. We are fully capable."

"You dare question me?!" growled the Shredder.

The master lowered his head, breaking a sweat. "Of course not my lord. We will follow your orders to the letter."

"Need I remind you all that this is no small operation such as robbery, theft, or murder? This is war! None of you know what war has in store for you. But I do. In war, only the strong survive while the weak perish! And I will have no weaklings among my forces! You are no longer separate guilds. You are all soldiers within the same army now. And you will operate as a whole and obey my authority! " His eyes glowed. "Otherwise… failure means… death. Is that understood?!"

"Yes my lord!" saluted all guild masters except for Mard Geer.

Mard Geer kept smiled cruelly. "Well spoken my lord, yet Mard Geer believes that that is not the real reason why you summoned us, is it?"

The Shredder's stare remained unfazed. "No. It is not." He raised his hand, beckoning them to rise. Then he himself stood up. "There is something I wish to show you." He walked down from his throne to the base and waved his hand in front of the steps. The steps sunk back and revealed a new door. It led down a dark tunnel. "Come."

The walk down the tunnel was a long one. Torches quickly lit up on their own as they were passed. With each step, the air grew fouler with decay, and the heat rose. Soon an exit came into sight. Then there was a loud roar that halted the guild masters, sending shivers down the spines of a few of them. Though the Shredder continued to walk. What followed next was the sound of clashing weapons, groans, and more individual roars.

"My lord!" a guild master called out. "What was that?!"

The Shredder did not answer and continued to walk.

"It would appear that we will soon find out," Mard Geer grinned.

They followed the Shredder out of the tunnel. They entered a large cavern enlightened by rivers of lava that flowed below. The Archdemon stopped at a ledge overlooking a flat area of rock. Upon the rock was a small battle. After Mard Geer and the rest of the guild masters stopped at the edge, their eyes widened. They saw a ragged, grey haired wizard with broken glasses fighting desperately against a band of green skinned monsters. The wizard was covered in bruises, cuts that dripped with blood and his once fair skin was splattered with black discoloration. He may have been greatly beaten down, but one of the last members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory was easily recognized.

"Rusty Rose!" pointed out a guild master. "He's alive?!"

"He lasted longer than that fat oaf of a wizard," the Shredder spoke.

Another guild master pointed his shaking finger. "My god!" he exclaimed. "Are those…?!"

"Indeed."

The creatures were clad in strange, spiked armor. Their weapons consisted of axes, swords, spears, maces, sickles, and clubs. Aside from their green, rotten skin, they had pale eyes, nostrils that sunk into their faces resembling skeletons, baldheads, pointed ears, and fangs that stuck out of their mouths. Most of them towered six and half feet tall while others measured at least four. Despite the difference of height, each of the creatures was heavily muscular.

The Shredder gave a small laugh. "It has taken centuries of breeding but the darkspawn are finally ready to return to the surface."

The guild masters save Mard Geer cringed.

"D…darkspawn?! But I thought they were a myth! A folktale to scare children!" A guild master sweated.

Mard Geer smiled. "Our lives are built on stories and folktales but from the depths of hell, the darkspawn have returned. As you can see."

Rusty Rose was surrounded by at least twenty of the creatures. His right arm was transformed into a black claw while his left held a golden shield. His panting could be heard among the darkspawn growls.

He turned his head left and right until his eyes caught sight of the Shredder and the guild masters.

"Master Shredder!" He screamed. "I beg you… do not let me perish at the hands of these beasts!"

The Shredder crossed his arms and said nothing. It was clear that he had no intention of sparing him.

Suddenly, a darkspawn ran behind him. Rose swung his black claw and swat the fiend away. He grunted at the pain from the black taint that spread through his neck like a parasite. His veins could be seen bulging with the poison. Two more darkspawn charged. Rose blocked a large axe with his shield and deflected a sword with his claw. Then Rose was hit from behind by a fireball. He groaned as he was blasted to the dirt face first. His clothing was scorched, leaving a hole on his jacket. Before he had a chance to regain his senses, a darkspawn brought down his axe, severing Rusty Rose's black claw arm. He yelled in agony, echoing throughout the cavern. But, it was not over. The darkspawn surrounded the crippled wizard like wolves encircling prey and began stabbing and hacking. A few of the guild masters shuddered at the sight. Though the body was hidden from view, the short-lived screams could be heard and blood sprayed the ground.

Mard Geer chuckled, "As relentless as the stories are told. Magnificent."

The Shredder raised his hand. The darkspawn quickly diverted their attention and stared at him. Next, they moved away from the dismembered corpse and knelt down.

"Let it be known that this war does not only herald a new age for dark wizards," The Shredder spoke. "Its significance is far greater. After a thousand years, the Sixth Blight… begins."


	2. Chapter 2: The Sixth Blight

Amidst the smoking ruins of the Magic Counsel's base of Era, Jackel, one of the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros placed a lacrima orb on the ground.

Jackel sneered, "Hehehe, this should get things riled up."

The lacrima activated and shined brightly. Eventually the light reached a thousand feet in the air. Then the light morphed into a transparent form of the Shredder. People could see his giant broadcast for miles. It even hijacked all communication lacrima. All eyes were on him now. Including the Magic Council soldiers who were away on a mission.

While a search was being conducted for the missing Tenroe Island, the Magic Council's warship's communication lacrima was hijacked.

"Captain Lahar! Captain Doranbolt!" yelled a soldier.

The two officers who were leading the search for the missing Fairy Tail members turned in response.

"What is it?" asked Lahar.

"You need to see the lacrima, it's been hijacked!"

"What?! By who?!"

The soldier sweated, "The Shredder."

They both cringed.

"What?!" Doranbolt exclaimed. "Seriously?!"

"He's making a broadcast right now!"

They moved in front of the group watching the lacrima.

"Attention people of Fiore, hear my declaration! This is the Shredder! Master of Dragon Claw, head of all dark guilds, and your future ruler! For years the magic counsel and the weak willed royal family have ruined this kingdom, bringing it into chaos and disorder thanks to their insecurity and false idolization of wizards. But no more! As you can see, the Magic Counsel lies in ruins, and all nine of its members lie dead!"

Lahar, Doranbolt, and the rest of their men could not believe their ears at the words.

"It… can't be," Lahar trembled.

"No way!" snapped Doranbolt

"It is time for a change in regime. One that will strike fear in the hearts of all who are defiant! I will burn this wretched kingdom to the ground and build the strongest empire that the world has ever seen from the ashes! And all who dare to resist me will suffer a fate worse than death! So, let it be known, that I, the Shredder, herby declare the Sixth Blight!"

Lahar's eyes widened behind his glasses. _Blight?_

"You all know what that means don't you? Death is upon you! The fires of war are upon you!"

With a swing of his hand, Jackel made explosions occur within the surrounding town. He cackled, "You all heard him! Time for war! Hahahahahaha!"

The feed stopped as the town blew up.

Lahar faced his men and yelled, "Set the sail! Set a course to the mainland immediately!"

The crew rushed to its positions.

Doranbolt put his hand on Lahar's shoulder. "Hold on a minute! We've haven't finished our search for Fairy Tail yet!"

Doranbolt was more devoted to the search than any of his colleagues. Prior to the destruction of Tenroe Island, he had infiltrated Fairy Tail in the hopes of learning about information that would enable the Council to destroy them. However, his plan failed when Grimoire Heart attacked the island. While caught in the middle of the conflict, his opinion of Fairy Tail had changed to the point where he tried to help them avoid defeat and destruction. However, Doranbolt could do nothing to prevent Acnologia from destroying the island. Guilt gnawed at his heart.

Lahar shook him off. "This is more important! Do you understand what has just happened?! With the Council destroyed, there's no stopping the Shredder from following up on his threat. We have a full scale war on our hands!"

Doranbolt looked down.

"I know how you feel Doranbolt, but we still have a duty to carry out. To protect the kingdom from danger and uphold justice. We must do whatever we can to prevent more innocent deaths."

He walked away from Doranbolt, who gazed out over the horizon where the island was once located. _I'm sorry. I truly am._

Seven years later.

"Let me off this thing!" groaned a pink haired fire wizard while hanging over the side of a carriage.

"It's only a few more miles Natsu… just a little further," assured a blue cat named Happy.

Natsu raised his head a little bit. "How… much… is a little?"

A black haired young man grabbed his chin. "I think it should be about… 30 more?"

"Awwwwww." Natsu hung his head back down, ready to blow chunks.

"You know Gray," said a little blue haired girl. "Not letting him know the exact number might make the ride easier on him."

Gray folded his arms. "Yeah well life is full of disappointments. By the way Wendy, why don't you just use that cure for motion sickness spell?"

A white cat stood up. "Casting the troia spell takes a lot of energy and we've all been asleep for seven years. Wendy shouldn't exert herself."

"Carla!" pouted Wendy.

"No she's right," spoke a red haired woman. "We're all still a little groggy and our magic power levels are low. Give them time to recuperate." She turned to Natsu. "You're just gonna have to put up with it until we get back to Magnolia. Understood Natsu?"

"Aye… Erza," Natsu wheezed.

A blond haired girl rested her head against the cushion. She sighed, "After all that craziness, it's nice to sit take it easy while traveling."

"Speak for yourself Lucy," Natsu whispered.

It was strange for the wizards of Fairy Tail. To them, they were finally going home after their battle with Grimoire Heart on Tenroe Island and surviving their encounter with the black dragon Acnologia. After the apocalyptic dragon had demolished the island, the spell, Fairy Sphere, called upon by their shared magical bond shielded them from destruction. However, their friends Alzack, Bisca, Warren, Max, Jet, and Droy discovered them and informed them that they had been missing for seven years. The spell had caused all of the guild's strongest members to fall into a deep sleep until its magic had run out. Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvel, Gajeel Redfox, Levy Mcgarden, Mirajane Strauss, Elfman Strauss, Lisanna Strauss, Cana Alberona, Fried Justine, Bickslow, Evergreen, Laxus Dreyar, Gildarts Clive, the guild master Makarov Dreyar, and the cats Happy, Carla, and Lily had not aged a day due to the time freezing effect of the spell. Though they themselves had had not aged, everyone who was left behind at Fairy Tail would no doubt be different; and the same could be expected for Fiore.

Since arriving by sea at the port city of Hargeon, the wizards rode in carriages along the rode. It was a caravan of six carriages each containing at least five passengers. To everyone else, it was a pleasant ride. Unfortunately for Natsu, his motion sickness tormented him.

Lucy stuck her head out the window to get some fresh air, letting her long blond hair wave in the wind. She was expecting the fresh scent of a forest breeze. Instead, there was a horrible festering odor that went passed her nose. In disgust, she opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. The surrounding trees were dead and withered, and the once green grass was charred with black. Lucy would have thought it was no different from a possible forest fire. Though that was not the only disturbing sight. The area was littered with dead animals, rotting corpses of soldiers being feasted upon by crows, and broken weapons scattered along the ground.

"Hey guys look!" she said.

Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy, and Carla gazed outside. Wendy and Carla put their hands over their mouths, while Gray, Erza, and Happy visibly cringed.

Suddenly, their carriage came to a stop.

"Why'd we stop?" asked Happy cautiously.

Gray stepped out of the carriage. Their carriage was the third in line.

"Hey what's going on?!" He called out.

"There's a tree in our way!" the first driver responded.

The rest of Fairy Tail's members piled out of their carriages. To Natsu's relief, his motion sickness stopped. He dropped down from the carriage and tried to adjust himself.

The muscular man Elfman flexed one of his oversized muscles. "No sweat! Leave it to a real man!"

While Elfman dashed for the tree, the others took in the sight of the environment. There was a shared expression of shocked and appalled faces.

"What the hell happened here?" Gray exclaimed.

The Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel sniffed the air. "Yuck!" He covered his nose. "The air stinks of rotting flesh!"

"There must have been a battle of some sort," assumed Erza.

Out of the whole company, Bisca, Alzack, Jet, Droy, Warren, and Max expressed more apprehension.

The brown haired, sand wizard Max gripped his chin, "Their raids are becoming more frequent. Warren, are you picking up anything?"

The telepath pointed his index finger to his right temple. "No, besides I can't even read their thoughts. They are savage beasts after all."

"Still," spoke Bisca as she took her husband Alzack's hand. "It's growing even more dangerous each day."

Alzack stroked his green haired, cowgirl wife's hand. "Agreed, we need to move fast."

The former missing members looked at their old comrades with wonder.

The short, blue haired Levy Mcgarden walked up to them. "What're you guys talking about? Do you know what happened here?"

Her former teammates Jet and Droy snapped into attention. "Yes mam!" they said simultaneously.

Fat Droy began, "You see…"

"Hold it you two!" Warren halted. "Let's wait till we're back at the guild." He scanned the area. "Where it's safe."

They could all see the amount of concern and worry within their friends' faces. It was clear that something big had happened while they were away.

Elfman changed his right arm into a heavily built beast arm with red fur. He took hold of the bark.

Then Natsu's sensitive nose picked up the scent of a swift change in the wind. He dashed for Elfman. "Elfman! Get down!"

He tackled Elfman. Before he knew it, a large shadow passed over them.

"What is it?!" yelled Elfman.

He followed everyone's gaze and saw a horrific sight. It was a beast with greyish green skin. Its body was hunched over, but it towered seven feet tall. It wore heavy upper body armor, and metal boots despite its skinny arms and legs. Each wrist wore gauntlets with long blades that could cut a man in half. It had pointed ears, a jaw filled with large fangs, and pale eyes full of vengeance.

"That's… manly!" he sweated.

"That's hardly a man!" ranted the long brown haired woman, Evergreen.

The black cat, Panther Lily took a stance, "What the hell is that?!"

Happy shook, "It definitely doesn't look friendly."

"Obviously," said Carla.

The creature screeched, waving its long blades.

Alzack took out his handguns. "It's a shriek!"

Bisca brandished her rifle. "And they usually hunt in…" Before they knew it, five shrieks came charging from the right side of the road and five more came from the left. "…packs!"

"It's an ambush!" Warren yelled.

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Well, I wasn't expecting a brawl so soon." He grinned. "I got this!"

He charged with ignited fists. The shriek sidestepped him and brought down one of its blades. Erza blocked the blade before it could hit. Then the shriek let out a screech that made their eardrums rattle. The loud noise broke everyone's concentration, allowing the shrieks to close in on them. Right as they lunged at the group, Makarov squashed the five on the left with a giant hand. As for the shrieks on the right side, Gildarts punched each of them and shattered their bodies to pieces. This turn of events made the screeching shriek pause, sensing the danger. Before it had a chance to run, Erza cut its head off.

With the screaming gone, everyone exhaled with relief.

"Man, those things are loud!" Gray complained.

"I'm still having trouble hearing," added Gajeel while massaging his eardrums.

"Hey everyone, we should get moving," warned Warren.

"Wait Warren!" Makarov commanded. "What's going on? What were those hideous beasts?"

Max stepped in. "Master, I promise that we'll explain, but it's not safe here. We'll tell you everything back at the guild."

Warren, Max, Jet, Droy, Bisca, and Alzak quickly got back into their carriages.

Erza gripped her chin. _What could have possibly happened while we were sealed away?_

After half a day's ride, they returned to the city of Magnolia. There they got reacquainted with the rest of Fairy Tail. To their surprise, their guildhall was nothing more than a farmhouse and the number of members aside from the team that found them numbered to at least eight. The members included Macao Conbolt, his son Romeo Conbolt, Wakaba, Nab, Vista, Reedus, Laky, and Kinana. In Makarov's absence, Macao Conbolt became the fourth guild master. Upon their arrival, they celebrated for days and nights; overjoyed to be reunited.

Then one day, after everyone had their fill of merriment, it was time to learn about the change in Fiore.

"What was that?!" demanded Erza.

"You can't be serious!" Lucy exclaimed.

Macao folded his arms. "It's true. Fiore is in the middle of a war."

The missing members of Fairy Tail could not believe their ears.

Makarov sighed, "To think that Fiore is once again at war."

"I don't believe it," said Wendy.

"So who are we at war with? How long has this been going on?" questioned Gildarts.

Wakaba let out a puff of smoke. "It wasn't long after all of you disappeared. After Tenroe Island was blown up, the Shredder rounded up all of the dark guilds and declared war."

"The Shredder?" asked Natsu.

Makarov broke a sweat. "The master of Dragon Claw, the head of all dark guilds. And the Archdemon, whose power rivals even that of Zeref's."

There was a shared expression of shocked faces.

Happy cringed. "He's as strong as Zeref? That's scary."

Mirajane raised her head. "Then all this time, you've all been…"

"Wi," spoke Reedus. "We've been at war for seven years."

"But how's that possible?" asked Makarov. "The Magic Council could've used the Etherion to wipe them out."

Vista said, "There is no Magic Council now."

"What?!"

"It was the moment when the Shredder declared war," explained Laky. "He dispatched Tartaros to destroy the Magic Council. And they succeeded."

More shock gripped the Tenroe group.

"Since that attack," Romeo began. "The royal family is now in charge of the war effort. They gathered all light guilds, the remnants of the council's forces, and their own army in order to fight back against the Shredder's forces. But that is not the worst of it."

"What could be worse?" asked Cana.

Macao and the rest grew uneasy.

"It's not just dark wizards that are fighting for the Shredder," spoke Wakaba.

"This is not just a war. It's been titled, the Sixth Blight," Macao said.

Makarov lifted his gaze abruptly. "Blight?! What the hell do you mean?! That title hasn't been used to describe a conflict since… since…"

"…since the darkspawn," finished Macao.

There was a chill wind in the air.

"Darkspawn?" whispered Lucy.

"The creatures that plagued the land in the ancient days. When even before the continent was named Ishgar, the kingdom was known as Ferelden," explained Makarov.

"You know how insane that sounds?" pondered Gray. "Dark guilds declaring war is one thing but this is ridiculous! Darkspawn are nothing more than stories to scare little children."

"Oh they exist all right," said Wakaba. "The Shredder brought them back. And they fight for him."

Macao shook his head, "Fighting against dark wizards is bad enough. But those darkspawn are viscous… mindless monsters."

Bisca held her arm. "They're relentless in battle. Like blood driven animals seeking prey."

Alzack put his hand on her shoulder. "And we suffered so many casualties."

Nab lowered his gaze. "We're all that's left now. All of our past members are dead. The cathedral's graveyard is filled with them but even it doesn't have all those who perished."

Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy and the rest could not believe their ears. While they had been sealed away, their home had gone through a major change. Their guild had suffered the loss of comrades in battle and their country was at war with a demonic force.

"How awful," spoke Juvia.

"I can't believe it," Lisanna frowned.

Natsu's vein pulsed, "They'll pay! The Shredder and all of his darkspawn will pay for this!"


	3. Chapter 3: Escort

"So let me get this straight, we're carrying out an escort mission for refugees?" Natsu asked.

"That's right," said Erza. "Thousands of people have been displaced since the war broke out, and given how the darkspawn can pop up out of the ground on a whim, there isn't a road in Fiore that's safe anymore."

Natsu snorted, "Well I think we should be taking the fight to them on the front lines instead!"

"I don't know if this occurred to you fire breath," Gray scoffed. "But we're not exactly caught up with the strength and power like the other guilds after being sealed away for seven years. Unless we fully devote ourselves to training, the front lines are too dangerous for us."

"Then all we've got to do is train and become stronger."

"One day Natsu," Happy spoke.

"But for now, it's escort missions for us," said Lucy.

Upon getting back, the Tenroe group found that Fairy Tail now covered low paying jobs that did not contribute greatly to the war effort. While the bigger guilds fought actual battles, Fairy Tail only covered escort and supply missions since the guild did not have as much renown and strength as it once did. Given the circumstances, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Wendy took on an escort mission for refugees. Their objective was to protect the convoy until they had reached Omnibus train station. From there, the refugees would leave the country. There were at least three carriages carrying refugees. To Natsu's displeasure, they all boarded one. Erza sat in the lead cart, Gray, Wendy, and Carla were in the middle, and Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had the last one covered. It was going to be a two-hour trip to the closest train station.

While riding in the cart, and Natsu vomiting over the back end, Lucy noticed how scared and traumatized the refugees were. Some of them had bandages over fresh wounds, others wept in silence. There was even a brown haired little girl crying.

"Mommy… Daddy," wept the girl.

Lucy crawled next to the girl. She patted her head. "There, there. It's going to be all right."

The girl looked up with tears. "But… mommy and daddy are…" She buried her face in her hands and cried again.

Lucy hugged the girl. "I know how you feel. I lost my father too. He was killed during a darkspawn raid." She membered how devastated she was when she learned that it was too late to see her father again. Lucy's father Jude Heartfelia had been regulating finances for the war effort and was butchered by darkspawn on a business trip. "But he wouldn't want me to stay grieving forever. And I'm sure that your parents would want the same for you too."

"But… but… the monsters," the girl shivered.

Suddenly, an arrow shot through the carriage canvas and hit a man in the chest. The girl screamed while the rest of the passengers panicked. Lucy's eyes widened. _Oh no._

"Darkspawn!" shouted Erza from outside. "Everyone stay in the carriages!"

The Fairy Tail wizards piled out of the carriages and were confronted by twenty darkspawn. Based on the appearances, most of the darkspawn were hurlock warriors with one shaman. The hurlock warriors mainly carried a variety of weapons while the shaman had a staff.

Erza drew her sword. "Protect the carriages at all costs!"

Roaring, the darkspawn charged with weapons raised. Natsu was the first to break off from the team and bash a few of them with a flaming fist. Gray froze the ground beneath their feet. But then the darkspawn shaman stabbed his staff into the ground. Red energy surged through the frozen earth and blew up the ground that Gray and the others were standing upon. Instead of freezing their enemies, the wizards were blown away and scattered. Erza regained her footing, leapt along the broken ground, and lunged into the group of darkspawn. One hurlock swung a mace. Erza easily deflected it with her sword and slashed the fiend across the chest. She then changed into her Purgatory Armor and swung her giant club. Five darkspawn were sent flying up into the air. The darkspawn shaman cast a fire spell at Erza. She blocked the blast, changed into her fire empress armor and charged at the shaman. Before he could cast another spell, Erza cut off his hands and impaled him. The shaman screeched as it collapsed, but its tainted black blood dripped down onto Erza's armor. The taint quickly corroded Erza's fire empress armor. Realizing this, Erza threw the dead shaman off of her blade and changed back into her regular armor before the taint could touch her skin. As she finished off the shaman, ten darkspawn closed in around her. Natsu and Gray attacked from both the left and the right, simultaneously burning and freezing the band. By the carriage, Lucy wrapped her whip around one darkspawn brute and hurled him into another. Wendy unleashed a sky dragon roar, blowing away the last three.

Lucy smirked, "Guess that takes care of that."

Suddenly there was a scream from the carriages. They turned and saw a giant darkspawn ogre stomp out of the forest, pushing trees out of its path. Like most darkspawn, it had pointed ears and a nose shaped like a skeleton's but the beast stood ten feet tall and was heavily muscular. The brute had two large curved horns at the top of its head. Its forearms, right shoulder, chest, hips, and kneecaps wore big spiked plates for armor but left the rest of its body exposed. Its massive hands and feet were tipped with black claws. The ogre's teeth were jagged and red with dried blood. The ogre reached with its left hand and picked up one of the trees it had knocked down. He held it like a club and roared.

Lucy was sweating buckets. "Me and my big mouth!"

The ogre charged with its tree club held high. The refugees screamed as the beast drew closer. Lucy quickly took out one of her celestial spirit keys and summoned Taurus.

"Taurus stop that monster!" Lucy commanded.

The perverted bull man mooed, "Anything for you Miss Lucy!"

He ran reached back with his axe and swung against the ogre. The axe split the tree in half. The ogre tossed the split chunks aside and punched with its massive claws. Taurus blocked the blow but the ogre pressed down on the flat part of his axe. The celestial spirit dug his heels into the dirt trying to hold off the brute. Taurus was huffing and puffing to hold back the monster but its strength was too great.

"Hang on Lucy!" yelled Natsu.

He leapt into the air and punched the side of the ogre's head with a fire fist. The ogre staggered to the side allowing Taurus to break their hold and bring down his axe on its left shoulder. The ogre roared in agony however Taurus' axe did not completely cut off its arm. Instead it was stuck.

"Hey let go fat boy!" mooed Taurus.

The ogre grabbed Taurus by the leg and lifted him off his feet. He then threw him at an incoming Gray and Erza. The two of them ducked before the celestial bull spirit hit them. Taurus crashed head first into a boulder.

"Taurus!" screamed Lucy.

Taurus fell down onto the dirt with a big bump on his head. He was out of commission causing him to blink out of existence and return to the celestial spirit world. Then the ogre pulled the giant axe out of its shoulder. It then swung the axe at Natsu who barely managed to dodge. Gray shot ice lances from behind into its back. The lances hit the brute but did not pierce its thick hide. Erza changed into her leopard flight armor. Wielding two swords at an increased speed, she dashed between the ogre's legs and cut its inner shins. The ogre let out a loud wail as it dropped to its knees. Gray and Wendy followed up by blasting it in the chest with a combination of ice and wind. It was forced backward and landed on its back. Lastly, Natsu came down in a flame tornado and pile drove the ogre in the chest. The fire attack engulfed the beast, roasting it. Once Natsu leapt away from the giant, the flames died down. The ogre was burnt to a crisp, showing no signs of movement.

Natsu swiped his hands together grinning, "Now that's what I call a darkspawn barbeque."

"We did it!" cheered Happy.

Lucy scowled at the cat sitting next to her. "You did next to nothing cat!"

Wendy shifted her attention toward the people in the carriage. "Don't worry everyone. You're safe now."

The refugees were stricken with joyous relief.

"Thank you thank you!" said a bandaged man.

"You're the best Fairy Tail!" cheered the brown haired girl.

Before their success overwhelmed the team, Erza broke in, "Don't celebrate just yet. There are still darkspawn roaming the countryside. Let's get the caravan moving and reach Omnibus before dark."

Although an hour had passed traveling by carriage to omnibus station, the road was clear of any darkspawn. The refugees were escorted to train station and eagerly boarded. The last one to board was the brown haired girl that Lucy tried to comfort. She was no longer crying and was smiling at the blond.

"Thank you for protecting us," she bowed.

Lucy blushed. "Don't worry about it. It's what we at Fairy Tail do."

The girl boarded the train. The doors closed and the train left the tracks. Even though she was happy that they had protected the refugees, a wallow of pity dwelled in Lucy's heart.

Natsu took notice and walked up to her. "Everything alright Lucy?"

Lucy frowned. "We managed to get those people out of harm's way but how many more will there be?"

Gray folded his arms. "Until the fighting stops? Who knows?"

Natsu banged his fists together. "That's why we should just find the Shredder and…" Erza covered his mouth.

"Natsu don't say that name around here," she warned she pointed her head to the left. "Look."

There were crowds of people who were sitting idly by. They were in no better shape than the refugees that Natsu and the rest managed to protect. There were men, women, and children covered in bandages. One man sitting in a corner was missing his right leg. Two boys and a girl sat huddled together on the floor. The girl was the oldest and held the two boys' heads against her chest. Their expressions were that of grief and fear. A mother sat on a bench trying to ease her crying baby, though she herself had red eyes from crying. In the past, Omnibus station was a busy center of travel for the citizens of Fiore. Since the Blight began, it had become a place of refuge. Awaiting those who had lost everything to the darkspawn raids to seek escape.

Natsu stopped talking, allowing Erza to removed her hand from his mouth. She spoke in a quiet whisper. "These people have lost everything because of the Shredder. The mere mention of his name is enough to strike them with fear. Right now they are hoping beyond hope that they can seek asylum in other countries. So for now, refrain from mentioning his name in public."

Natsu understood but clenched his fists in agitation. He hated to see families torn apart and suffering.

"Let's find an inn in town and stay the night. Camping outside the city after dark is not safe," commanded Erza.

The team left the station and wondered the streets in search of an inn. Happy sat on Natsu's head. "We need to stop the fighting soon Natsu or more people are going to die."

"Damn right."

After spending the night at a local inn, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy, and Carla returned to Magnolia. They were fortunate that the town was one of the few that was safe from the darkspawn raids. Fried had constructed an enchantment around the city to prevent any from entering. Still, Fairy Tail was low on finances and could not rebuild their old guildhall. Until they received enough funds, they would remain in the small barn house of a guildhall that sat on the hills of Magnolia. The team finally arrived at the front door of the guildhall. They were surprised to see Gildarts standing on the porch.

"Hey Gildarts!" smiled Natsu.

The strongest wizard in Fairy Tail greeted them with a wave. "Hey guys, you just get back from your mission? How did it go?"

"We got the refugees to safety," said Lucy.

"Although we ran into a darkspawn raiding party on the road," added Gray.

Natsu flexed his right bicep, "But nothing that we at Fairy Tail couldn't handle. By the way Gildarts." He took off in a sprint. "Let's have a match."

As expected Gildarts, slammed Natsu head first into the ground before he could reach him. "Some other time pal. Maybe when I get back."

Erza blinked, "You're leaving Gildarts?"

Gildarts heaved a big duffle bag over his shoulder. "Yeah. I'm heading to the frontlines."

The team was not expecting to hear that. It was not uncommon for Gildarts to travel for long periods of time since he took on the higher-level jobs. However this time he was heading to the section of Fiore where the fighting was the most intense. Fiore was currently cut in half between the north and south. While small bands of darkspawn would occasionally raid the roads and outskirts of major cities, the majority of the Shredder's forces lay beyond the boundary. The wizard saints, top guilds, remnants of the magic council's army, and the royal army were stationed at the boundary to stop the main enemy forces from crossing into the southern half of Fiore.

"The frontlines Gildarts?" asked Happy. "I heard that's where the fighting is most intense."

"That's right Happy. I've spent enough time resting since Tenroe Island. It's time for me to do my part to end the Blight."

Natsu quickly got to his feet. "Please take me with you!"

Gildarts shook his head. "You're not ready for this Natsu."

"But I'm as committed to ending the war as much as you! I want to make the Shredder pay for everything he's done to our country!"

Gildarts placed a hand on his shoulder like a father. "I know Natsu. But like I said you're not ready. You need to hone your skills and make up for the seven years we spent sleeping. Right now I'm entrusting the safety of our guild to you and everyone else. Besides, it was a decision I made as the fifth guild master."

Everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What?! You're the new master?!" Lucy snapped.

Gildarts shook his head. "For a short time, Makarov wanted me to take over but I'm not cut out for that role."

"You turned it down?" asked Erza. "But you'd make a great master."

"You're too kind Erza. But you know me. I'm not one to stay in one place for too long. Besides, my talents right now are best suited for the front lines than for being the new guild master. But I did make some rules as master. One, I reinstated Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail."

"I wondered when that would happen," Gray chuckled.

"Now I can challenge him to a duel as a fellow Fairy Tail wizard!" Natsu cheered.

"And I'm pretty sure he'd pulverize you."

Natsu turned his head and glared. "What was that popsicle?!"

Gildarts laughed, "Anyway. My second declaration was assigning Makarov to be the sixth master."

Wendy laughed, "Now things are almost back to normal."

"I'll bet he threw a fit over that," said Carla.

"And my last ruling was for our guild to remain here and guard our kingdom until Fairy Tail becomes the number one guild in Fiore again."

Natsu flexed his fist. "Leave it to us Gildarts! I wish I was going with you but we'll train hard and make anyone who laughs at our guild eat their words!"

"More importantly when we're at full strength, we'll be ready to join you in battle," said Erza.

Gildarts smiled, "Looking forward to it. Best of luck to all of you."

He walked past Natsu and then past the others but Lucy stopped him.

"Excuse me Gildarts but what about Cana?" she asked.

"She's already a strong wizard but I gave her a summon card to use in case she ever needs her dear old dad."

Gildarts moved past his young guild mates.

"Good luck Gildarts!" waved Natsu.

"Kick the enemy's ass!" cheered Gray.

"Make sure to be careful out there," warned Wendy.

"We'll make you proud and build Fairy Tail back up to being the strongest in Fiore!" called out Erza.

Gildarts waved goodbye as he descended further down the hillside.


End file.
